Football Players Enjoy Lunch at Outback

BATON ROUGE – The Outback Steakhouse on Acadian Thruway was ready for a hungry group of Tigers, and that’s exactly what they got Thursday afternoon as the LSU football team poured into the restaurant to enjoy a team lunch.

The Outback Bowl provided lunch for the entire team as part of the bowl experience. The restaurant staff said they cooked 189 sirloin steaks and 189 chicken breasts, and they served 189 slices of cheesecake and more than 70 bloomin’ onions for the occasion.

Junior left tackle La'el Collins said it was an easy decision as to who on the team ate the most food.

“Vadal Alexander ate the most. I saw him eat five steaks and three scoops of mashed potatoes,” Collins said jokingly as he shared a laugh with Alexander.

Junior wide receiver Jarvis Landry thanked the bowl for giving the team the opportunity to eat at the steakhouse.

“It is a great experience for this restaurant and the bowl to open up to us and let us enjoy the food,” he said.

For the second year in a row, Outback is holding a promotion that is directly tied to the winner of the Outback Bowl: if the SEC team wins the game on New Year’s Day, then Outback patrons on Jan. 2 can order a complimentary bloomin’ onion. If the Big Ten team wins the game, then customers will receive a free order of coconut shrimp.

It is pretty clear that LSU fans are hoping they can sink their teeth into some bloomin’ onions the day after the big game.

“I don’t really like onions, personally, but for this game I am definitely a bloomin’ onion guy,” sophomore cornerback Jalen Mills said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

No. 14 LSU returns to practice Thursday to continue preparations for the bowl game against Iowa on New Year’s Day in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

Tickets are on sale at www.LSUtix.net, and fans can also purchase tickets by calling the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184 or 800-960-8587.